A quarantine protocol against red palm weevil Rhynchophorus Ferrugineus (Olivier) (Coleptera: Curculiondae) in date palm

The red palm weevil (RPW) Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Olivier), (Coleptera: Curculiondae) is a key pest of date palm in the Middle East. This weevil is currently being reported from over 50% of the date growing countries of the world. The date palm Phoenix dactylifera cropped area in the Middle East, has significantly increased during the last two decades where date palm is mainly propagated through offshoots. The red palm weevil larvae are often found in the offshoots, resulting in the spread of the pest and also its re-inoculation where RPW is already controlled. Currently, there are no quarantine protocols to ensure that date palm offshoots which are transported for planting, are free of RPW larvae. In this study, date palm offshoots were sprayed while still attached to the mother palm and also dipped separately with Fipronil 3.5% (Thripguard 35 SCTM) and Imidacloprid 35% (Confidor 350 SCTM) a day after detachment from the mother palm. Fipronil and Imidacloprid were tested at 0.008 % and 0.01%, respectively. Results revealed that dipping gave complete mortality of the larvae. Dipping was significantly better than spraying since spraying resulted in only partial mortality of the larvae. It was also seen that dipping offshoots in Fipronil 0.004% and 0.002% for 30 and 60 min, respectively, resulted in 100% mortality of the larvae tested. Further, toxicity studies resulted in complete mortality of larvae and adults that were exposed to offshoot tissue that was dipped in Fipronil at the above concentrations. For this reason, it is recommended to dip date palm offshoots in 0.004% Fipronil for 30 min before transporting to ensure complete mortality of the hidden larval stages, if any and complete certification and transport of the treated offshoots to the new planting site within 72 h of treatment

Global Coinfections with Bacteria, Fungi, and Respiratory Viruses in Children with SARS-CoV-2: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background: Coinfection with bacteria, fungi, and respiratory viruses has been described as a factor associated with more severe clinical outcomes in children with COVID-19. Such coinfections in children with COVID-19 have been reported to increase morbidity and mortality. Objectives: To identify the type and proportion of coinfections with SARS-CoV-2 and bacteria, fungi, and/or respiratory viruses, and investigate the severity of COVID-19 in children. Methods: For this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched ProQuest, Medline, Embase, PubMed, CINAHL, Wiley online library, Scopus, and Nature through the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines for studies on the incidence of COVID-19 in children with bacterial, fungal, and/or respiratory coinfections, published from 1 December 2019 to 1 October 2022, with English language restriction. Results: Of the 169 papers that were identified, 130 articles were included in the systematic review (57 cohort, 52 case report, and 21 case series studies) and 34 articles (23 cohort, eight case series, and three case report studies) were included in the meta-analysis. Of the 17,588 COVID-19 children who were tested for co-pathogens, bacterial, fungal, and/or respiratory viral coinfections were reported (n = 1633, 9.3%). The median patient age ranged from 1.4 months to 144 months across studies. There was an increased male predominance in pediatric COVID-19 patients diagnosed with bacterial, fungal, and/or viral coinfections in most of the studies (male gender: n = 204, 59.1% compared to female gender: n = 141, 40.9%). The majority of the cases belonged to White (Caucasian) (n = 441, 53.3%), Asian (n = 205, 24.8%), Indian (n = 71, 8.6%), and Black (n = 51, 6.2%) ethnicities. The overall pooled proportions of children with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 who had bacterial, fungal, and respiratory viral coinfections were 4.73% (95% CI 3.86 to 5.60, n = 445, 34 studies, I2 85%, p < 0.01), 0.98% (95% CI 0.13 to 1.83, n = 17, six studies, I2 49%, p < 0.08), and 5.41% (95% CI 4.48 to 6.34, n = 441, 32 studies, I2 87%, p < 0.01), respectively. Children with COVID-19 in the ICU had higher coinfections compared to ICU and non-ICU patients, as follows: respiratory viral (6.61%, 95% CI 5.06–8.17, I2 = 0% versus 5.31%, 95% CI 4.31–6.30, I2 = 88%) and fungal (1.72%, 95% CI 0.45–2.99, I2 = 0% versus 0.62%, 95% CI 0.00–1.55, I2 = 54%); however, COVID-19 children admitted to the ICU had a lower bacterial coinfection compared to the COVID-19 children in the ICU and non-ICU group (3.02%, 95% CI 1.70–4.34, I2 = 0% versus 4.91%, 95% CI 3.97–5.84, I2 = 87%). The most common identified virus and bacterium in children with COVID-19 were RSV (n = 342, 31.4%) and Mycoplasma pneumonia (n = 120, 23.1%). Conclusion: Children with COVID-19 seem to have distinctly lower rates of bacterial, fungal, and/or respiratory viral coinfections than adults. RSV and Mycoplasma pneumonia were the most common identified virus and bacterium in children infected with SARS-CoV-2. Knowledge of bacterial, fungal, and/or respiratory viral confections has potential diagnostic and treatment implications in COVID-19 children